i_s_l_a_n_d_rp | (no subject)

So that's where the death happened. The way they were laying didn't seem natural. I wasn't sure if they were killed here or else where. They were just too close together to be normal.

But if it was the dining hall, there will be proof of death there, depending on the blood. Most likely is poison of some far, but it's rare a cause of death if confirmed only by what's happened to their face.

I will now make my counter for your theory.

[Holds up a finger.] First, I'll address your feelings. You are a watcher. These people doubt whether or not you existence, so your relationship is only one sided. Further more, Krauss, Shannon, and Gohda are the only three on this island regularly. We know that it's likely you hate Rosa for her treatment of Maria, so perhaps if she got a special death, your theory would hold water. The thing is, she was with the majority. Rudolf and Kyrie were just visitors. Maybe you'd hate them, but you wouldn't hate them especially.

The three who are always on the island and Rosa, if it was these four who had their faces bashed in, it could be believed that you hold a particular hate for them, but the fact you hit the other two who are usually just visitors with the worst, it seems odd.

Gohda is a cook, a servant. If it were him and Shannon spared, since they wouldn't show greed and such like the family members, it might work. Shannon, you could excuse. She seems just a nice servant, at least.

But Krauss is the one who stands out. If destroying half his face was to make it a point that he was being punished, then why didn't you do that with Rosa, to make it a point that just leaving Maria like that is unforgivable as well? No, the reason Krauss was spared was because the person hated him less than the others. Especially when you have a reason to hate him especially. He believed in your gold, but denied it to others. He'd openly deny your existence while thinking otherwise. It'd be insulting if I was in your place.

[Holds up a second finger.] The second point. You left the faces untouched so all the bodies could be identified? That's doubtful. The question is again why only those two? To destroy only two, that's more likely to make people think the four you can't tell are trying to pull a trick when, as Kyrie says, you turn the chessboard around. If you wanted to seal your proof, you'd have left half of the face for everyone, not just those two.

... Kuhihihiyahaha.

Marvelous. It seems rather inconsistent when you think about it, doesn't it? Turning the chessboard over doesn't leave a lot of insight into the killer's mind at the moment other than pure, raw hatred. Even if I simply told you why I hate each and every one of these victims, you'd simply call me out on making it up. Effective. I suppose I can't counter it when I exist as a legend at the moment to these people. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the magic circle as well. I'd ask you for a culprit in mind, but that's far too soon. There's no way you could have someone in mind who you could prove would hate these three specifically or have a reason to kill them in such a brutal fashion, so the witch's darkness can comfortably cover these murders for now. I'm not worried. There's also the matter of the locked shutters, how the culprit moved six bloody bodies in the span of one night... simple tricks for magic, but entertain me with those human theories.

One more thing... it slipped my mind in simply shifting from night to day in front of the arbor. On Natsuhi's doorknob, she hung the scorpion pendant from inside her room. [ cacklecacklecackle ] Naturally, there are bloody clawmarks all over it. Her door alone. Forgive me for speeding things along too fast, I was eager to show you this little mess.

...was there? [And that looks like another clue to him, looking over at Natsuhi.]

Hatred is often the motive for murder. Something that just pushes someone over the edge.

...well then, for the locked shudder. I'd like to know the number of keys and where they are. After all, if there's a key floating around outside, it's only a matter of getting their hands on the key and using it.

The time of death is at least six hours. If it was at that time, most people would be asleep. While it would be difficult to do, it's certainly not impossible. Especially if there's something like a trolley or the like in this place. Or if the death really was in the dining room and not somewhere closer and blood wasn't just left at the scene to go with Natsuhi's door.

And....I should mention one thing. For this crime and the deaths I suspect are going to happen for the next line in the epitaph...in no way can it be you who will be the culprit. Because you wouldn't have gotten the first line wrong and the second line says it's not you.

... [ Tenses. She's not as good at hiding her emotions as he is. ] Come on, don't assume things so quickly. This is the first game. Though asking you to sit back and enjoy the show is a pointless thing for me to do, kihihi. You'll deny me at every corner, with every possible move you can make. It's going to be a difficult chess game.

As for the keys, I won't confirm in red just yet how many are floating around. I want to keep you guessing. I won't tell you if it's the only thing that unlocks this shutter or not, and I won't tell you the precise location... I'll save that for the next piece. [ Better take one last look at that crime scene, because she's shaking the smoke from her pipe once more and the memory dissolves, we're back on the island. ] The first twilight is a suitable enough second piece.

Of course I'll deny you. And I don't need to assume. I just know you aren't the kind to make obvious mistakes. The first epitaph requires two people. The key who chooses the sacrifices and the one who kills them for the key. Either you are told to kill these people by someone, or you never touched them yourself, be it magic or otherwise. And the second line says it's the survivors, which means it has to be someone in the family. I can't imagine a 'magical ritual' would allow for such errors.

[He looks around, taking a good look at the scene.] So it's not a locked room murder. That means the murderer could do this, at least with what's known so far. The symbol...well, I have to check, but I think I might have seen it somewhere. I'll have to look it up before I say what it is.

... Kuhihihi. Just remember, in both Anti-Mystery and Anti-Fantasy, there is more than one way to read that Epitaph-- it really is the most valuable piece I handed over to you. Have you made any progress in solving it?

There might be some helpful resources in the library, some non-helpful ones... I've heard of some of the islanders having devices called laptops, so I'm sure you can figure out that little symbol. If not... I believe Maria will be kind enough to give you an explanation in the fifth piece.

Bits and pieces. It's already proven to be helpful in this regard, but I still need to know more about Rokkenjima before I could make any conclusions with any weight to them. There's some ideas, but that's all they are. While that's acceptable for some things, I'd rather not make any declarations for the riddle without something to back up an idea.

Maria could? Ah, so it's something of the occult.

... A good idea. You might not even have enough pieces to solve the riddle halfway until the third game. Though you might surprise me and have a burst of intuition, so we'll see, we'll see!

Naturally. A blood circle like that is just occult-looking at a glance, right?

I might, but even then, I'd want to see something to confirm it first. [Even when he thinks he knows a murderer, he watches them for a bit to be sure they are or see actual proof.]

But it could have been utter nonsense of a circle as well.

So it'll be a good, long while before you can understand the true meaning of that little riddle. If you do solve it, anyway.

I can guarantee that's not the case.

I'll solve it. I can be patient until I have all the pieces.

Good. It's no fun if it means nothing and it'd be even poorer craftsmanship of a murder scene.

Good. Patience will probably be your second most important tool in my game.

Why would I diminish my magic with something fake? [ cackle! ] I'd just shame myself, really.

It always is in any mystery.

And if you're going to use the effort to make it in the first place, might as well make it right. It enforces the idea it's magic better for the murderer's protection.

... Protection? You call such a brutal-looking circle an act of protection?

The protection of their identity, yes. The more signs they put of 'magic,' the more likely it will be for people to come to the conclusion magic did it because they don't see another obvious alternative.

I guess, if you really wanted to view it that way. Battler would take your side on that standpoint as well, hoh.

It's that or because they're clearly lost their mind, it's a compulsion.

It was too elegantly drawn for that circle to be a compulsion. But that's just my opinion.

Compulsion as part of insanity would demand some perfectionism, but it's less likely with the other evidence.

So it is more likely just to make people think it's a witch.

... Plus, if the circle didn't exist, the bodies wouldn't be found immediately, would they? Nothing would draw attention to the shed if there weren't a circle. The typhoon was happening at that time as well, so it wasn't as though the servants would stumble on the bodies accidentally in order to retrieve something from that shed to do yard work since it's illogical during such a furious storm.

So you can think of a circle as a beacon. A call for the bodies to be found.

There is that too. Though any signal could do, but it does work at doing both, doesn't it?

...when did it start raining, anyway? It was for the proposal...did it break at all during the night?

You're right, it does.

It began when Maria was searching for her rose, remember? And no, there wasn't a single break in the typhoon's storm. So your dear hypothetical murderer also had the task of hauling all those corpses through a typhoon to the shed. Not easy.

...that's right. It was then.

It's not impossible to transfer the bodies. Maybe it even helps, since it provides cover. The footprints might have even been washed away during the heavy rain, but it's not the body transfer I was asking about.

The question is...when did they make the symbol on the shutter?

Hmhmhmhm...! That I won't answer. I'll leave it to you to theorize about it-- you never did find out if it was blood or paint, did you? Kihihi. It's as much of a riddle as the corpses it hid, isn't it?

Blood, paint, it doesn't matter if I determined either way. I couldn't say if the paint was human blood or animal blood without a test.

But either way, it takes time for that to dry. It couldn't have been painted after the rain had started.

He talks a lot.

It's okay, so does she!

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